Not much beats the immediate satisfaction of being able to buy, download and print a PDF sewing pattern, all in the comfort of your own home and without having to wait like a desperate pup for the postman to come. However, If you've not yet gone down the PDF pattern route, the initial process from purchase to print can seem pretty daunting - so much so that its original appeal can be forgotten quite quickly! No fear - we're here to hold your hand...

OK. Let's talk technicalities. If you've never downloaded and printed a pattern at home, don't worry! Just like a paper pattern, it's all very easy and straight forward: once you've purchased the pattern, you'll be getting a confirmation email from us with a download link (check your spam folder if it's not popping up in your inbox!). Simply click the link to download the pattern file to your computer...

*Please be aware that you will be downloading a .zip file, and this can only be opened from a computer; you will not be able to open and/or print your PDF pattern from a smartphone or tablet*

Printing your pattern at home

Once you have opened the .zip file, you'll see that the folder contains two or more PDF files: the instruction booklet, and the pattern itself - which will sometimes be split up into multiple files in order to minimise paper wastage. For example, our Anna Dress pattern has separate files for the bodice and two skirt variations so you don't have to print off the maxi skirt pages if all you want is the midi. Same goes for our latest pattern, the Zeena Dress, which has separate files for the two different bodice variations so you only have to print off the one you want to make there and then. We recommend printing only the pattern files, and keeping the instructions up on your computer screen as you sew to save paper.

Once you've opened up the pattern file in a PDF reader such as Preview, Adobe Acrobat or Reader, you'll see that the first page is a "test square" - we need to print this off first to check that everything is printing off to the right scale. In your print preview, choose to print page 1 only, and make sure that is it set to 100%, 'no scaling' or 'actual size'.

Print off the test square, check that it all measures up, and if it does - hooray! - you can print off the rest of the pattern in the same way.

If your test square does not measure up, then you'll need to go back into the print preview to double check that you've set your printer to 100% scale or 'actual size', and not 'auto' or 'scale to fit' or anything like that!

Assembling your pattern

Once you've got your pattern all printed off, lay out the pages on the floor matching the border notches, and using the image in the 'Assembly' page as a guide.

When you're happy with the layout, trim away the borders and carefully tape or glue your pattern together, matching the notches. We particularly like masking tape for this job as you can easily peel it off if you need to fix a mistake. You're now ready to trace or cut around your size and go about the making of your garment as normal!

We are very aware of the fact that printing patterns at home can be very draining to the old paper and ink supply. We've done our absolute best to keep pages to a minimum, and maximised the space on each page by making the borders around the pattern as narrow as possible, whilst still being suitable to print on both A4 or US letter paper.

Printing your pattern at a copyshop

For some, the idea of printing and assembling multiple pages of A4/US letter paper is more than a little bit tedious, especially when it comes to maxi dress patterns... Enter the 'copyshop file'. To print your pattern intact on large sheets of nice 'n' sturdy paper, simply locate your nearest copyshop or printers, and email them the 'copyshop' files that come with your PDF sewing pattern (alternatively you could take the files in on a flash drive). They'll need to be able to print on paper that is at least 841mm wide, and from a continuous roll of paper.Then simply pick up your pattern, skip on home and cut that bad boy right out! No trimming, no sticking, no mess, no fuss. Phew!

We really hope that this post will have shed some light on the process of buying and sewing from PDF patterns. Please feel free to chime in or ask us anything in the comments below.

In relation to previous posts about the cost of A0 printing… net printer.co.uk do A0 printing for 75p per sheet and I’ve heard great things about them from the sewing community on instagram! So definitely worth a look if you’re UK based! :)

Just spotted the comments about charges for A0 – I’m always using copy shop versions of pdfs and just about to buy the Alix dress which I’m hoping the printer I use will be able to cope with. www.plancopy.co.uk only charge £3.50 per A0 sheet and if you’re happy for it to be folded to A4 instead of rolled in a tube postage is around £2.60.

Not quite sure what happened here – I remember replying to Ruth ages ago but it seems to have disappeared – sorry about that!

In reply to your concerns… Yes, agreed – PDF patterns can certainly be a bit of a hassle to put together and/or find a reliable and affordable copyshop. Ruth, £24 is indeed way to steep for a sheet of A0! Our local prints at about £9-13 for a pattern, depending on how many files the pattern has. In terms of printing at home, we like to collect old bills, letters etc – basically anything A4 (or US letter) that has one side blank! – especially for printing patterns so as not to be wasting fresh A4 paper.

Needless to say, we loved our printed patterns, and we miss them now that we have had to discontinue them. And I do have to stress that it was a business decision – and a very hard one at that! – based on finances, that forced us to stop producing paper patterns, not any lack of love for printed patterns or disregard for our customers who favour printed over PDF. Going down a cheaper route was just not something we could consider, especially seeing as it would mean downgrading the packaging, not the pattern tissue itself, which was already the lightest and most affordable option out there.

We have found that the world seems to be fairly equally split when it comes to printed patterns vs PDFs, and we realise that we can’t please everybody, much as we wish we could. We see the positive sides to both schools of thought. We love the immediacy of PDFs, especially the fact that we can get them printed onto paper that is sturdier and longer lasting than the traditional tissue, and multiple times if we need to make alterations or make gifts for friends with different measurements.

I hope this clears things up a little, and that you both decide to give PDF patterns another chance!

Dear Elizalex
You stress that you appreciate customer feedback, so here goes. I bought a PDF coat pattern from you, and found the process of piecing together bits of paper to make a paper pattern very annoying, and it made the pattern very unwieldy. So I took it to the only copying shop in our small town, and it cost me £24 to be printed on a sheet of wide paper. While I now have a beautiful usable pattern, together with the cost of fuel and the parking fee on top of the price of the pattern itself, that is not a sustainable price for a pattern. Surely I can’t be the only one who can’t be doing with these pdf patterns? Could you not sell them with the more usual flimsy tissue patterns as an option ? I’d like the updated dress pattern , but really am thinking twice about it on cost grounds.
Best wishes
Ruth

I just read an article about the difference in paper size between A4 and US letter and how it affects the printout sizing. I notice in the screen capture that you have the paper size set at A4- I’m in the US where A4 isn’t sold. Is there anything I can do to ensure my printout is accurate to your design? I have it all printed and pieced and the 4" square measures correctly, just wondered. Thanks

Hi DT & Tracy, we do indeed have plans to update all the PDF patterns to include a print at copyshop file! We’re working on it now, so please bear with us… Either way, all previous purchases will be able to re-download the pattern with the copyshop file without having to buy the pattern again. ~Elisalex x

Hi ladies,
Thank you so much for this post!!
I am so open to your recommendations and fully trust your advice… so much so that you have made me more open minded about PDF patterns. I am so scared of them – feel they are draining and complex to put together… but your post simplifies it all!

I much prefer the large format, print at copy shop option also. I just find all that printing, trimming & sticking together is very tedious & time consuming. I also can’t use my home printer (as it seems to take almost a whole $20 ink cartridge just to print one or two PDF patterns!) so I have to go elsewhere & pay to print anyway. It is much easier to be able to print in AO size at a copy shop.

Ive used print at home its certainly the way forward for anyone who owns a computer. The big advantage is your pattern is preserved for future use. No lost or torn bits, no issue with sizes after cutting it first time.

The big pain is having to stick it together. Ive stuck a 60 page pattern, I did it on the floor and I was worn out afterwards.

If you gave the file as a printshop print as well it would be fabulous as they can print it off for us for a couple of pounds. Please consider this you already have it as a digital pattern. Thanks

Hi, thanks girls I love the Anna dress especially in pdf! However, I want to make the maxi version and would
like to know how. I see the line of where to lengthen the dress but is there not some maths that needs to be done to make the flare of the dress right? I can’t seem to find any instructions for this and I am new to sewing so don’t know these things!! Xx

How exciting! I have made the Anna dress and love it so much. I’m looking forward to sewing more of your patterns, and I was wishing you would offer PDFs so we wouldn’t have the shipping cost. Thank you!

Hi Gillian & Alex – thanks for getting in touch! We’ve definitely had mixed opinions on the Anna PDF as to whether offering only the midi skirt to save paper was a good idea or not! As with all new ventures, we want to keep on improving until we have something perfect, so rejigging the file to include the maxi is something we are now seriously considering. If we do go ahead and change it, rest assured that you (and everyone who has bought the Anna PDF) will be sent the update free of charge as soon as it becomes available!

First of all: thank you! I actually prefer pdf patterns since I have trouble with tracing paper patterns.
That said: why did you only include the midi skirt version? I mean, wouldn’t it be easier to offer another pdf with the maxi skirt pattern and let your buyers choose if they want to waste the paper or not? It’s not as if you have to print the pdf pattern out.

Hi! I really wish the maxi skirt was included already! If I wanted to draft my own and do the math for all 4 pieces, I would have just done that from the start. Would it be possible in future versions to have the additional skirt pieces as a separate file, so we can choose if we want to print them or not? My sister bought the pattern for me to sew for her, so I hadn’t read the description beforehand. I appreciate that you’ve been up front about it, I just don’t understand the logic. You have lots of pattern hacks on the blog, and of course I don’t expect pattern pieces for those in the pattern… but when all the line drawings and examples include maxis, I’d like the pieces to be included! Let me decide if I want to save paper by not printing them.
Thanks.